Oil-cup.



UNITED ESTATES PATENT UEFICE.

DAVID E. SMITH, OF OSWAYO, PENNSYLVANIA.

OIL-CUP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 659,159. dated October2, 1900.

Application filed November 1, 1899. :erial No. 735,527- (No model.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID E. SMITH, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Oswayo, in the county of Potter and Slate ofPennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful ImprovementinOil-Cups, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in oil-cups, and moreparticularly to that class which I term an automatic ball-feed oiler,one object being, as the name implies, to provide a cup which isautomatic in operation that is to say, one in which the discharge of oilis automatically shut off when the motion of the machinery to which thecup is applied ceases and which automatically opens when the machinerystarts.

A further object is to provide means whereby the extent of movement ofthe ball-valve is regulated and varied in accordance with the speed ofthe moving part to which my improved oil-cup is attached.

A still further object is to provide a cup which will be thoroughlyeconomical in the consumption of oil.

With the foregoing objects in view my invention consists in certainnovel features of construction and combinations of parts, which will behereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in side elevation, andFig. 2 is a vertical section.

A represents the body portion of the cup, it being preferably made ofglass, as is customary, so that the contents can be seen from theoutside. This may be cylindrical, if desired, or in any other convenientshape, and at its lower endit is reduced, as at 1. At this point it isembraced by the upturned flange 2 of the base-ring 3, a rubber gasket orother packing 4 being interposed between the glass cylinder and the baseto make a tight joint at this point. This base portion'has ascrew-threaded plug on its lower side adapted to screw into a hole forits reception over the bearing to be lubricated, and to the angularportion 5 a wrench or other tool is applied for screwing or unscrewingthe oil-cup.

Projecting upwardly from the base and centrally located thereon is thethreaded nip the cylinder thereinto.

tube 8.

ple 6, and through the base-plug and nipple an oil-duct 7 is formed forthe escape ofcthe oil from the cup to the part to be oiled. A tube 8 isscrewed onto the nipple 6 and ex- .tends some distance above the top ofthe cup,

its upper end being screw-threaded, as at 9, and the portion within thecylinder having orifices 10 therein for the passage of oil from Screwedupon this 0 tube 8 and embracing the upper end of the cylinder is a cap11, which holds the cylinder securely between it and the base-ring 3, agasket or packing 12 preferably being interposed between said cap andcylinder. An oiler 13 in this cap supplies the cylinder with oil when itis desired to refill it. A nut 14. is screwed upon the upper end of thetube, and a jam-nut 15 holds this nut 14 in its adjusted position uponthe tube. the passage of air through the nut 14. A valve-seat 17 isfitted in the lower end of the This valve-seat is made of wood which isadapted to become saturated with oil, and wood is employed in preferenceto other materials because it will not corrode. It has a duct 18, whichopens into duct 7, and its entire upper surface is concave, as shown at19. In this concaved upper surface a ball 20 is placed, the function ofthe latter being to insure an immediate closure of the duct 18 againstthe escape of oil when the machinery is at rest. The ball 20 may be madeof glass or other suitable material, and its weight and size aresufficient to always insureaperfectautomatic operation. Depending intothe tube centrally from the nut 14 is the spindle 21, its object beingto regulate the size of the chamber in which the valve 20 moves, thenutbeing screwed on or ofi of the threads 9 go on the upper end of tube8 accordinglyas the speed of the engine or machinery to which the cup isapplied is fast or slow, the lower end of the spindle acting to regulatethe size of this chamber, as the diameter of the ballvalve 20 is greaterthan the space between the spindle and the tube 8, so that it isimpossible for the ball to enter the said space, and its movements arealtogether confined between the valve-seat and the end of the spindle.Consequently the raising and lowering of the nut 14:, which carries thisspin- The hole 16 is for 70 dle, will necessarily regulate the capacityof the chamber in which the ball-valve 20 vihrates.

When in motion, the oscillations of the part to which the oil-cup isconnected cause a more or less rapid vibration of the ball in accordancewith the speed of the machine, and its constant return to its seat hasthe effect of, in a measure, a force-feed upon the oil at the orifice ofthe duct, thus keeping the part thoroughly lubricated, a constant supplyof oil being fed into the tube 8 from the surrounding glass cylinder.The moment the machinery ceases to move the valve gravitates to theorifice of the duct, where it seats itself and absolutely shuts off allfurther supply of oil, so that there is no waste when the machinery isat rest. Heretofore oil -cups have been provided with valves whichrequired closing by hand when the machinery stopped and which whenforgotten, which was not an uncommon occurrence, wasted their entirecomplement of oil and not infrequently resulted in a hot-box when themachinery was started Without the engineer being conscious that the oilhad wasted. This objection is entirely obviated in my invention by theprovision of the automatic ballfeed, which absolutely insures a closureof the oil-duct the moment the machinery ceases to move and as long asit is at rest and which, on the other hand, opens the duct automaticallyas well as soon as the machine begins to move.

It is evident that slight changes might be resorted to in the form andarrangement of the several parts described without departing from thespirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to limitmyself to the exact construction herein set forth; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a base-ring, a cylinder, a tube projectingoutside of said cylinder, a cap and a valve-seat having an oilducttherein, of a ball-valve, a nut on the upper end of the tube adjustablethereon and provided with a spindle which depends into the tube, thespace from the spindle to the tube being less than the diameter of theballvalve whereby to limit the movements of the ball-valve, which spaceis regulated by the adjustment of the nut up and down on the tube.

2. The combination with a base-ring having an oil-duct therethrough andprovided with a screw-threaded nipple, a perforated tube screwed on thenipple, a cylinder and a cap, the cylinder being held between the capand the base-ring, of a valve-seat having, a duct which leads into theduct in the basering and provided with a concaved upper surface, aball-valve resting in the concaved seat and adapted to normally closethe duct, a nut adapted to screw on the upper end of the tube, said nuthaving an air-vent and provided with a depending spindle locatedcentrally in the tube, the nut being adjustable on-the tube whereby thesize of the valvespace is regulated.

DAVID E. SMITH. In presence of VERNON E. HODGES, RALPH S. WARFIELD.

